Nur Asena Erturk
07 October 2024•Update: 07 October 2024
ANKARA
France’s foreign minister Monday urged a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
Jean-Noel Barrot took up a visit to Jerusalem to mark the first anniversary of the conflict, and told a news conference that France was “unswervingly committed to Israel’s security.”
Barrot added that he told his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, that force alone cannot guarantee Israel’s security.
“Military achievements cannot substitute a political perspective… After a year of war, the time for diplomacy has come. Political solutions exist but there is little time,” the French minister said, adding that Paris was ready to work towards de-escalation and peace in the region.
Noting that an international conference for Lebanon would be held in France over the next few days, he said “force must yield to diplomacy” in Gaza as well.
“We pleaded for months… for a cease-fire that would allow the release of all hostages and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid (into Gaza). One must be coherent: One cannot call for a cease-fire while arming the belligerents,” Barrot explained.
Lebanon is on the “edge of a cliff” and a regional spillover would serve no one’s interests, he said.
Everyone, either Israel, the EU, or a country in the Middle East, “has the responsibility to act to prevent Lebanon from finding itself, in the short run, in a situation as dramatic as Syria did years ago,” he added.
The conflict escalated after an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, prompting the Israeli army to launch an offensive on Gaza. The attacks have led to the deaths of nearly 42,000 people, primarily women and children, with approximately 97,100 others injured.
The impact of the offensive has been profound, with nearly the entire population of Gaza displaced under a blockade that has severely restricted access to food, clean water, and medical supplies. The UN estimates that debris from destroyed buildings in the area exceeds 42 million tons.
South Africa has since taken legal action, filing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, accusing the country of genocide in Gaza. Several nations, including Türkiye, Nicaragua, Spain, Mexico, Libya, and Colombia, have joined the case.
As international concern over Gaza intensifies, recognition of the Palestinian state and support for its full membership in the United Nations has grown. In recent months, Spain, Norway, and Ireland have officially recognized the Palestinian state, with Slovenia and Armenia following suit. To date, 149 of the UN's 193 member states have recognized Palestine.
Efforts to mediate a cease-fire and facilitate a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, have stalled over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to halt the ongoing offensive.
